From the Division I transition to new players and coaching staff, the University of North Alabama has undergone significant changes since last school year. Both men and women’s golf teams have grown with these changes  and hope to make an impact right away.

“In general, it’s a really big year for us in regard to building a winning program,” said Coach Neil Self, head coach for women’s golf

To build a winning program, Self recruited five new players. Self expects the addition of these players to the roster of returning players will take the team far this year. 

“We have 6 new players, which is a large class for a women’s golf squad,” Self said. “All are very talented and can make an immediate impact on the team. Two are highly successful D2 transfers.” 

The two transfers, Rose Baral and Anna Grace Brock are successful Division II athletes. Baral is from Las Vegas and transferred from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She shot a 77.8 average with a low round of 72 in 2021. 

Anna Grace Brock is from Greenwood, S.C., and played three seasons at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She shot 78.73 for 11 rounds. She also earned three All-State Honors while in high school. Coach Self’s other recruits are Kerigan Klauber, Jackie Klemm, Zarah Fisher and Allycia Gan. 

Kerigan Klauber earned All-State Honors and won the 2022 Hurricane Long Drive Championship.She is a four-time district 2 champion and finished sixth in the Tennessee State Championship. 

From Kelheim, Germany, Jackie Klemm is a player to watch. She was a four-time All-American golfer at Arkansas Tech  and won eighth place in the national tournament and GAC freshman of the year. 

“Add them to the returners, and I expect us to make a significant leap forward competitively,” Self said. Sophomores Hannah Dees and Jahnavi Prakhya, had the 2 best freshman seasons in program history last year. And Hannah Pope, a 5th year senior, has played every tournament since we started the program four years ago.” 

As for men’s golf, their roster has also undergone significant changes. . UNA Men’s Golf only has three players returning for the season this year, which brought the team significant opportunity for recruitment. 

Since Coach Luke Calcater’s  was hired on June 6, , UNA Men’s Gold has  added three All-American transfers from Arkansas Tech University: Henry Frizzel and twins Andre and Francois Jacobs. While attending, the players won a Division II National Championship. 

At Arkansas Tech, the Jacobs’ brothers won All-American all three years they attended Arkansas State, and they were First-Team All-Great American Conference and PING All-Central Region honorees. According to roarlions.com, both brothers were ranked top 15 Division II players.

Henry Frizzel is ranked 139 in Division II according to roarlions.com. He is a two-time All-Conference honoree as well as the 2021 PING All-Central Region pick. In high school, he was first-team All-State, All-Region and All-District. 

Coach Calcatera also mentioned fans watch for  Carter Goodwin who finished second in the ASUN Conference Championship last season and is expected to make an impact this season. 

Men’s Golf will begin the season on Sept.12 and play in tournaments at Auburn University, Florida State University, the University of Alabama Birmingham and Sam Houston State.

“We can’t wait to get started; the connection the team has built in our first few weeks together has happened quicker than I expected,” Calcatera said. “Everyone has been working really hard and we’re all looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together.”